Court upholds $4.2 million verdict in wrongful death suit against city of Manchester

The Iowa Supreme Court upheld a $4.25 million jury verdict to parents of a 31-year-old Colesburg man in a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city of Manchester and a police officer, both held responsible in his death following a high speed pursuit.

The court also upheld $10,000 awarded for punitive damages for assault and battery resulting during the officer’s pursuit of Augustin “Gus” Mormann, who was driving a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Dec. 10, 2020.

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“We are very pleased with the court’s decision to uphold the verdict,” Dave O’Brien, lawyer for the Mormanns, said in a statement. “Today’s ruling reinforces that Iowans should be able to expect transparency and responsibility from law enforcement agencies in our state. We honor law enforcement officers for doing a difficult and at times dangerous job, as well we should. But, we also need to hold law enforcement officers accountable when their reckless actions and poor judgment causes the death of Iowans.”

Dan Mormann, Gus’ father, said they filed the lawsuit to get justice for their son, promising him they would find out what happened.

“This decision shows that when police are reckless and murder someone, they need to be held responsible,” Dan Mormann said in a statement.

“Gus was so much more than this case and the years it has taken to get answers. He was our son, and he deserved protection under the law,” Sandy Mormann, Gus’ mother, said in a statement. “We hope this decision causes changes in policy so people can get to the facts and other Iowa families don’t face the same lack of communication and answers we did.”

The lawsuit, filed in 2021 by Sandy and Dan Mormann, asserted Manchester police Officer James L. Wessels’ decision on Dec. 10, 2020, to continue the chase of their son, through the city of Manchester, wasn’t justified for only a suspended license offense — a misdemeanor.

Iowa State Trooper Eric Payne initiated the pursuit of Mormann westbound on Highway 20 after Mormann was driving at high rate of speed — accelerating from 99 to 107 mph — and then fled after being pulled over. But the trooper ended the chase because it would be unsafe to continue within the city limits with increased traffic, the lawsuit and a search warrant affidavit stated. A Delaware County sheriff’s deputy who also had joined the chase ended his pursuit for the same reasons.

As Mormann sped through downtown Manchester, Wessels took up the pursuit but never activated his dash- or body-mounted cameras, despite the department’s policy requiring such recordings, according to the ruling. Wessels reached speeds over 100 mph as he chased the motorcyclist on 165th Street, a county road with “low rises and blind turns.”

When Wessels went over one of the rises, he suddenly came upon the motorcycle, which had slowed down to about 62 mph, the ruling stated. To avoid collision, Wessels veered into the left lane and his right rearview mirror stuck Mormann. He then drove back into the right lane and decelerated in front of Mormann’s motorcycle.

Morman was unable to stop his cycle and collided with the left quarter panel of Wessels’ cruiser. He lost control and crashed into the ditch, according to the ruling. He was face down and motionless. Officers said he was breathing but unresponsive. After a few minutes he regained consciousness and began screaming. Other officers, who arrived at the scene, rolled him over on his back and waited for medical responders.

Mormann was airlifted to the University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City, where it was determined had three fractured vertebrae and was permanently paralyzed from the neck down, the ruling stated.

A toxicology report showed Mormann had amphetamine in his system, which indicated he had used methamphetamine sometime in the preceding three days.

Mormann remained on life support for more than a month and on Jan. 12, 2021, he told his parents he wanted to be taken off life support.

His parents complied and their son survived for more than 30 hours, the ruling stated. During those hours, he told his mother “I got ran off the road, pushed off the road at a high rate of speed.” Mormann died Jan. 15, 2021.

Police department concealed lack of video footage

Mormann’s parents began investigating the crash. Manchester Police Chief Dan Hauschild told Daniel Mormann that the crash was captured on video and recordings would be turned over to the Iowa State Patrol for the investigation.

However, that wasn’t true, the ruling stated. Hauschild, for about a month after Mormann’s death, concealed from Mormann’s parents and the state patrol that Wessels never activated his dash or bodycam during the chase.

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Mormann’s parents filed a civil petition against the city and Wessels. The district court, because of court rulings, granted summary judgment to the city and dismissed some of the Mormanns’ claims.

The other claims went forward and during the eight-day trial, the Mormanns proved that Wessels, in trying to stop their son, intentionally struck his motorcycle, according to the ruling. During testimony, other law enforcement involved in the pursuit, along with two experts — one in police pursuit policies and the other an accident reconstructionist — testified, according to the ruling.

The expert in police pursuits testified extending a police pursuit only increased the risk of negative outcomes, the ruling stated. He concluded deadly force wasn’t warranted and Wessels’ decision to continue his pursuit “increased the danger of and ultimately resulted in an adverse outcome.”

The accident reconstructionist testified it was his opinion that Wessels intentionally collided with the motorcycle, according to the ruling. He said Mormann’s body made contact with Wessel’s cruiser. The markings on the car resulted from contact with Mormann’s body, not just from vehicle-to-vehicle impact.

The defendants argued Wessels was “duty-bound” to continue his pursuit and that Mormann was to blame for the crash, the ruling stated.

‘Willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others’

The defendants, in their appeal, argued the court made several errors of law and certain claims should be tossed, including the assault and battery claim, Mormann’s dying declaration about being run off the road, evidence regarding the police department’s internal policies and lack of sufficient evidence for the punitive damages. The court rejected all the appeal grounds.

The justices ruled there was sufficient evidence to support the jury finding that Wessels acted with “willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others.” The evidence showed Wessels pursued his own chase — in violation of department policy — after other officers called off the chase; that he also traveled at a high rate of speed in areas of low visibility; that Wessels had slowed down at the time of the crash and Wessels’ cruiser hit the motorcycle “twice intentionally, without justification for using deadly force,” according to the ruling.

A jury could conclude, which it did, that Wessels intentionally and with “willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others” stuck Mormann’s motorcycle, causing his death, the ruling stated.

Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com